SOMERSWORTH — A Somersworth House of Pizza driver was beaten and robbed Wednesday night while delivering pizza to a vacant Green Street home.

The 29-year-old victim suffered head and facial injuries in the attack, which occurred at about 7:47 p.m. behind the duplex at 51 Green St. He was taken to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital for treatment following the incident.

Thomas Kefalas, owner of Somersworth House of Pizza, said the driver is expected to survive but could require extensive long-term care.

“What is extremely surprising is the level of viciousness of the attack,” said Kefalas, who has owned the restaurant for 26 years and never before had a driver robbed. “That's the thing that has really shocked everybody.”

“Things like this happen in big city ghettos, not in small-town America,” he said.

Police have released few details about the incident. Capt. Russell Timmons said the driver was hurt during the robbery but did not describe the extent of his injuries.

Timmons also would not say whether cash was stolen or whether the driver was assaulted by more than one person.

A woman, who lives in the neighborhood where the attack took place, said she saw the driver walk out from behind the duplex with bloody wounds to his scalp above his forehead.

“They hit him in the head with something,” said the woman, who spoke with Foster's Thursday from her vehicle that had been pulled over by police near 51 Green St. She said the suspects stole the driver's money but left the pizza inside the apartment.

It wasn't clear if the assault took place inside the two-story duplex, which neighbors say could be accessed from a second-floor window, or in the parking area behind the property.

City records indicate the duplex is owned by Keith Stone and Thomas Smith of Old Orchard Beach, Maine. The building is valued at $164,000 for tax purposes. Two men cleaning out the property Thursday afternoon who identified themselves as the owners declined to comment on the assault.

The victim worked for Somersworth House of Pizza for at least a decade. Kefalas was visibly shaken while describing his relationship with the driver, whom he said was like a son.

Kefalas said he's made countless deliveries over the years but never worried about being robbed or assaulted. He now plans to require new delivery procedures to prevent a similar attack.

“I am praying to God that for the good of society that they actually catch these people,” he said.